The private sector created more jobs than expected in September but the pace slowed amid growing signs that the labor market is getting tighter.
A report released Wednesday by ADP and Moody’s Analytics, revealed companies hired 135,000 more workers in the month, ahead of the 125,000 that economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected. That was a drop from the 157,000 in August, a number that itself saw a sharp downward revision from the initially reported 195,000.
September’s gain was the slowest since June and brought the 2019 monthly average down to 145,000, a steep decline from the 214,000 for the same time period last year.
The numbers come amid growing concerns over the strength of the U.S. economy. A reading Tuesday from the Institute for Supply Manufacturing showed the sector is contracting, though not yet at a rate consistent with a recession. Other economic data has been relatively strong, though, particularly on the consumer side.
